Rocky Mountain Gamer: Racing into the holidays

"Forza Horizon" brings it home for Colorado gamers, allowing them to race around the scenic Centennial State. (Courtesy photo)

"Forza Horizon"

From: Microsoft

Rated: T

Who's it for: Racing and car fans of all ages

Console: Xbox 360

Grade: A

Racing games come in two flavors: the simulators featuring realistic car-handling and famous racetracks, and arcade-style games that sacrifice realism for a more accessible experience.

A couple of years ago, the "Forza" series -- long lauded for its accuracy -- included a series of "assists" to help less-skilled players enjoy the game. Still, the focus on track racing made these games feel formal, lacking the excitement of games such as "Need for Speed" or "Burnout."

Enter "Forza Horizon," which bursts off the track and onto streets, highways and dirt roads.

Set in an accurately rendered yet unspecified section of Colorado, "Forza Horizon" sends players to the Horizon Festival, a multiple-day celebration of racing and music.

The result is an amazing mash-up of organized, rally and illegal street racing with a large open world to explore as you will.

The game opens with a mad rush to the festival to win one of 10 coveted wristbands, allowing you to compete in low-level events. Winning events leads to higher-level wristbands and the ability to enter more races scattered around this idyllic Colorado setting.

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That alone would have made for a fun game, but it's only the beginning. Get a few hundred racing freaks together and there's bound to be some shenanigans.

After you reach a few podiums, you'll be invited to enter the underground racing circuit. Here, the prizes are bigger and the competition more aggressive. You can even win new cars if you prove worthy.

The game also tracks your racer's popularity. You start as an unknown, the last racer in town with a popularity of 250 out of 250. As you race, pulling off great moves, your popularity will increase, and after every 25 levels you receive an invitation to a Showcase event.

These wild rides have you racing against airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons and more. Win, and you get to keep the car the sponsor provided for the event.

As with previous "Forza" games, collecting cars is half the fun, and there are plenty of ways to fill out your stable.

In addition to claiming pink slips in certain underground races and keeping cars won in Showcase events, you can also win cars from rivals you meet during the organized races and even find some sweet rides in barns scattered around the countryside.

And if all else fails, you buy the cars you want from the Auto Show.

To separate you from as much of your money as possible, "Forza" allows you to buy cars with in-game money, as well as tokens you can purchase from the Xbox Marketplace. The fanciest rides can run as much as $5, but you'll get that 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa a lot faster.

Tokens also can be used to purchase a treasure map, pinpointing the location of every collectible in the game (including those rare barn finds), as well as popularity boosts, giving you double popularity points for a set period of time.

There will also be monthly car packs that can be purchased separately or as part of a season pass.

"Forza Horizon" features superb graphics with dozens of accurately rendered cars as well as the brilliant Colorado environments. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly where in state these roads are, though, as the area names have been changed, presumably to keep daredevils from seeking them out in real life.

The soundtrack, while not as robust as games such as "Grand Theft Auto," definitely has a lot to offer, with groups including The Black Keys, the Arctic Monkeys and The Hives.

Most games fall short when trying to be all things to all people. But this combination of realistic racing with an arcade-style, open-world festival is irresistible. Other racing games need to pull over. "Forza Horizon" wants to pass.

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